The Coordinate System

Although the there graphs in Figure-1 are useful in showing how a variable changes over time of across individuals, such graph are Limited in how much they can tell us. These graph display information only on a signal variable. Economists are often concerned with the relationships between variables. Thus, they need to display two variables on a single graph. The coordinate system makes this possible.

Suppose you want to examine the relationship between study time and grade point barrage. For each student in your class, you could record a pair of numbers: hours ore week spent studying and grade point average. These numbers could then be placed in parents hoses as an ordered pair and appear as a single point on the graph. Albert E., instance, is represented by the ordered pair (25 hours/week, 3.5 GPA), while his” what-me –worry?” classmate Alfred E, is represented by the ordered pair ( hours/wee, 2.0 GPA).

We can graph these ordered pairs on two-dimensional grid. The first number in each ordered pair, called the x-coordinate, tells us the horizontal location of the point. The second number called the y-coordinate, tells us the verruca location of the point. The point with both an x-coordinate and a y-coordinate of zero is known as the origin. The two coordinate in the ordered pair tell us where the point is located in relation to the origin: x-units to the right of the origin and units above it.

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